The term game-manager has followed Alabama senior quarterback, AJ McCarron around like it’s his shadow or a loyal dog, but can we please put to rest this connotation when talking about the Crimson Tide quarterback?

The term has a negative connotation and depicts a quarterback who is incapable of putting a team on his shoulders and making plays with this arm and/or feet. McCarron has proved time and again that he is a quarterback who wins, rather one who is a caretaker for the offense and lets his defense and Nick Saban win despite him.

If you don’t think that’s the case, then maybe you need to watch the game at Texas A&M this season or the fourth quarter at LSU last season. He has more championship rings than he has losses as a starter.

When is AJ McCarron going to get the ESPN love he deserves? Dude has been more solid than a hickory tree.

How quickly those calling him a game-manager forgets he was the top-rated passer in 2012 as he won his second national title while throwing 10 times more touchdowns than interceptions (30:3). McCarron put another bullet point on his resume this week with a career-high 359 passing yards as Alabama rolled up 668 yards in the thrashing of Kentucky.

He is a victim of the incredible talent around him and doesn’t get the credit he deserves for what he does on the field. For that matter, the same goes for what he does in the film room and the leadership he provides in the locker room.

With the exception of perhaps Johnny Manziel, there is no player in the nation who is as valuable as McCarron. Take McCarron off this team, and there is little chance Alabama is the two-time defending champions and in the driver’s seat for an unprecedented third title in the BCS era.